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Pritzker wants to consolidate early education, speaker's bill allows staff to unionize

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:12:48 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Early childhood education in Illinois would be administered by a separate state agency, combining disparate services that bind parents in red tape, under a proposal Gov. J.B. Pritzker unveiled Tuesday.The Democrat announced the plan in Chicago on the first day of the General Assembly's fall veto session in Springfield, where the speaker of the House saw his plan allowing legislative staff to unionize advance for a floor vote.Among other issues, discussion of financial help for Chicago to care for 14,000 migrants has been delayed, but Pritzker's vetoes of measures to lift a 35-year-old moratorium on new nuclear reactors and tighter protections for workplace privacy are in play.The re-organization of early childhood services would combine programs administered by three separate agencies. Pre-school funding is disbursed by the State Board of Education; the Department of Human Services handles intervention services, home visits and child care assistanc...

2 men wounded in separate shootings – Police

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:12:48 GMT

ST. LOUIS – St. Louis police are investigating two separate shootings in north city neighborhoods.The first shooting happened in the 4900 block of Euclid Avenue, located in the Fountain Park neighborhood, according to Sgt. Charles Wall, a spokesman for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.The victim, an adult man, was found shot in the abdomen. He was said to be conscious and breathing.The second shooting occurred near the intersection of Shreve and Anderson avenues, located in the Penrose neighborhood, where a man was shot in the face. He was breathing but not conscious.

Kansas City Zoo mourning loss of oldest Masai giraffe, Mahali

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:12:48 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Kansas City Zoo announced Tuesday that its beloved Masai giraffe, Mahali, has died. The zoo said Mahali, the oldest Masai giraffe in facilities accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, died on Oct. 19, at the age of 29. She was euthanized due to worsening chronicconditions associated with her advanced age that no longer responded to treatment. City Union Mission looking for holiday season volunteers, donations Mahali was born at the Los Angeles Zoo in July 1994 and arrived in Kansas City in April 1995. The zoo said Mahali was the tallest female of the giraffe herd, measuring over 15 feet tall. The loss of Mahali leaves the Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium with four Masai giraffes: male Aidan, age 4, and three females, Makali, age 11, Alika, age 2 and Chandy, age 4.

Police searching for information after man shot, killed in southeast Denver

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:12:48 GMT

Denver police are searching for information after a man was killed Wednesday, Oct. 18, in southeast Denver.The shooting happened about 2:50 a.m. in the parking lot of an apartment complex at 3227 S. Parker Road in southeast Denver, the Denver Police Department said in a crime alert flyer posted Tuesday on X. Winston Marquez-Morales was killed in the shooting.#Denver, do you have any information regarding either of these investigations? If so, call @CrimeStoppersCO at 720-913-7867 — you can remain anonymous and earn a cash reward! pic.twitter.com/f0W4hzzfpL— Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) October 24, 2023Police ask anyone with information to call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867. Tipsters can remain anonymous and are eligible for up to a $2,000 reward.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Mesa County deputies shot man Friday night Crime and Public Safety | Teen boy identified as victim killed in East Denver shooting Crime and ...

Man riding bicycle hit, dragged to death in South L.A. hit-and-run

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:12:48 GMT

Editor's note: This article has been updated to correct the number of victims in this case.A man was killed after getting hit and dragged by a van in South L.A. Tuesday morning in what police believe may have been an intentional hit-and-run. Officers were dispatched to the area of El Segundo Boulevard and Broadway in Willowbrook around 9:15 a.m. on reports of a vehicle striking a pedestrian, according to Los Angeles Police.Witnesses told officers that a man driving a van struck another man riding a bike at 117th Street and Broadway and kept driving, dragging the victim for about a mile.The LAPD provided this photo of a van believed to be involved in an Oct. 24, 2023, hit-and-run.A man died and another person was severely injured after they were hit by a car in South L.A. Tuesday morning, and authorities believe it may have been intentional. (KTLA)The crime scene at 117th & Broadway after the fatal collision. Oct. 24, 2023. The victim became dislodged from the van at El Segundo ...

Santa Barbara woman seen on video harassing Latino street vendor

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:12:48 GMT

Last month, a Santa Barbara woman went viral after a video showed her making racist statements towards a Latino construction worker. Now, another video has surfaced of the same woman verbally confronting a Latino street vendor.The footage from the first video – taken on Sept. 16 – sparked a local protest, the Los Angeles Times said, with hundreds of people flooding the streets of Santa Barbara in protest of what they deemed to be a “racist encounter.”  Protesters gather in Venice to push back on self-driving robotaxis In that incident, the woman – identified by the Times as Jeanne Umana – enters a home down the street from hers despite the construction worker who was recording telling her that it was a private construction site. “I live here. I’m American, you’re a Tijuanan,” Umana, 74, can be heard saying. “Thank you for being racist,” said the construction worker, identified by the Times as Luis Cervantes. Umana “apologized repeatedly” in an interview wi...

A wildfire shuttered this Calistoga winery for three years. It reopens Sunday.

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:12:48 GMT

After a three-year closure, Calistoga’s Sterling Vineyards is set to reopen Sunday with a brand-new gondola and tasting areas.When the Glass Fire hit on Sept. 27, 2020, scorching the earth and triggering structural damages at 23 or more wineries, it seemed that Sterling Vineyards had avoided the fate that befell many of its neighbors. The winery’s popular aerial tram appeared to be intact.But once the smoke cleared, it became evident that the fire had damaged the winery’s tasting areas and the tram could no longer be used. So the winery, which had operated in Calistoga since 1964, shuttered.Sterling Vineyards in Calistoga will begin to offer gondola rides, wine tastings and more when it reopens following a three-year closure on Oct. 29. (Courtesy Sterling Vineyards) But come Sunday, Sterling Vineyards will return to business with a brand-new gondola and tasting areas, according to Luke Magnini, the winery’s director of hospitality, who says the long clos...

Photos: ‘Floating’ Oakland home built for jazz great Dave Brubeck listed for $3 million

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:12:48 GMT

A uniquely designed Oakland home originally built for late jazz legend Dave Brubeck is for sale for $3 million.An Oakland home built for late jazz legend Dave Brubeck is for sale for $3 million. (Christian Klugmann, Christian Klugmann Photography) The mid-century modern home is cantilevered 16 feet in the air, creating the appearance of a part of the home “floating” above the hillside.An Oakland home built for late jazz legend Dave Brubeck is for sale for $3 million. (Christian Klugmann, Christian Klugmann Photography) An Oakland home built for late jazz legend Dave Brubeck is for sale for $3 million. (Christian Klugmann, Christian Klugmann Photography) The 2,652-square-foot property was designed in 1954 by architect Beverley D. Thorne, who sought to accentuate the beauty of the home’s natural surroundings. The four-bedroom, four-bath home features panoramic views of the bay and was built around a rock outcrop that projects through the center of the house into the ori...

Tropical Storm Otis gathers steam, approaches Mexico

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:12:48 GMT

Associated PressMEXICO CITY — Tropical Storm Otis strengthened to a hurricane Tuesday as it approached Mexico’s southern Pacific coast where it was forecast to make landfall near the resort of Acapulco late Tuesday or early Wednesday.The U.S. National Hurricane Center said that Otis was about 145 miles (235 kilometers) south-southeast of Acapulco on Tuesday with winds of 80 mph (130 kph). It was moving north-northwest at 7 mph (11 kph).There was a hurricane warning in effect from Punta Maldonado to Zihuatanejo.Otis was expected to dump five to 10 inches of rain on the southern state of Guerrero with as much as 15 inches possible in some areas. That raised the possibility of mudslides in Guerrero’s steep mountainous terrain.In the Atlantic, Hurricane Tammy continued moving northeastward over open water with winds of 75 mph (120 kph) after sweeping through the Lesser Antilles over the weekend. Tammy was located about 580 miles (935 kilometers) south-southeast of Bermuda. T...

Crews clear wreckage from ‘superfog’ pileup near New Orleans

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:12:48 GMT

By Kevin McGill and Sara Cline | Associated PressNEW ORLEANS — Crews worked into Tuesday morning clearing the wreckage of more than 150 vehicles involved in a series of crashes the day before on Interstate 55 near New Orleans caused by a “superfog” of marsh fire smoke and dense fog that killed at least seven people and injured another 25.Lance Scott was among the many drivers caught in the wreckage. The 51-year-old had been driving his daughter to the airport when the fog thickened, as if a “white-out on a ski slope.” He slammed on his brakes, narrowly, avoiding the cars in front of him — but from behind he heard “the most horrendous clank of metal.”“It was, ‘Bang. Bang. Bang.’ It just went on… for probably 45 seconds,” Scott said. “As every second went by the clanking of the metal got a little bit fainter, which told me it was backing up — so I knew there was layers and layers of collisions.”Scott turned ...